A project tracking federal judicial nominations and courts.
|
|
|
 Senator Statements
|
Sen. Chafee Floor Statement in Opposition to Alito Nomination
(Republican - Rhode Island)
01/31/06
"the commerce clause ...is the most powerful provision in the Constitution providing Congress the authority to enact legislation in a host of areas—including environmental protection....using the ‘‘aggregate effects test’’ or ‘‘substantial effects test’’ Congress has passed broad ranging environmental legislation such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, all of which were signed into law by Republican President Nixon. While I agree there should be constitutional limits on legislative power, Judge Alito seems to have agreed with Justice Thomas ...If ‘‘the aggregate or substantial effects tests’’ are overruled as Justice Thomas has advocated, federal environmental laws could be ruled unconstitutional. Indeed on February 21, the Court is scheduled to hear arguments on two cases, Carabell v. United States and United States v. Rapanos. In both cases the lower court upheld protection of wetlands, which are currently protected under the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists argue that these wetlands are critical to the health of our nation’s water supply and wildlife habitat. Industry groups argue that the Army Corps of Engineers has no authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate ‘‘isolated wetlands’’ that have no connection with ‘‘navigable waters.’’ This would be a major setback to the Clean Water Act. The critical issue is whether under the commerce clause, Congress has the authority to regulate non-navigable bodies of water within a single State. Based on the writing of Judge Alito, he would appear to side with the faction what would greatly limit the ability of Congress to protect such ‘‘intrastate’’ issues."
Senator Menendez's Floor Statement in Opposition to Alito Nomination
(Democrat - New Jersey)
01/31/06
"Judge Alito has found against congressional
authority when he argued in
dissent in United States v. Rybar
against a ban on machine guns that
five other appellate courts and the
Third Circuit itself upheld. Judge Alito
also authored the majority opinion in
Chittister v. Department of Community
and Economic Development, invalidating
parts of the Family and
Medical Leave Act for exceeding the
bounds of congressional authority—a
position the Supreme Court subsequently
rejected."
Senator Akaka Floor Statement in Opposition to Alito Nomination
(Democrat - Hawaii)
01/31/06
Alito's "approach also undermines
Congress’s authority to protect
the public. Judge Alito has ruled that
Congress did not have the authority to
pass the Family Medical Leave Act or
to enact a Federal ban on the possession
or transfer of machine guns. In
both cases, the Supreme Court disagreed
with Judge Alito’s conclusions
and upheld these protections, demonstrating
that Judge Alito’s opinions
are not in the mainstream....he
will be in the position to affect a number
of critical issues in the coming
years. Important questions on privacy,
the environment, Presidential power,
and women’s reproductive rights will
all come before the Court to be resolved."
Sen. Kohl Floor Statement in Opposition to Alito Nomination
(Democrat - Wisconsin)
01/31/06
"He was in the extreme minority of
judges around the country when he
found that Congress has no ability to
regulate machine guns. His efforts to
strike down portions of the Family and
Medical Leave Act were rejected by
then-Chief Justice Rehnquist. He
raised the bar to unreachable heights
repeatedly in employment discrimination
cases, to the point where the majority
of his court concluded that he
was attempting to ‘‘eviscerate’’ the
laws entirely."
Sen. Boxer Floor Statement in Opposition to Alito Nomination
(Democrat - California)
01/30/06
"the Supreme
Court belongs to the people of America.
It is their court. It is not George
Bush’s court. It is not any Senator’s
court. It is the people’s court, and the
highest court. It is their freedoms that
are at stake, their protection from a
power-hungry Executive, their right to
clean air, to clean water, and safe communities, ...Would Justice Alito vote to let citizens
stop companies from polluting
their communities? The record says no.
In a case involving toxic discharges
into a major river, Judge Alito voted
to stop citizens from taking the polluting
company to court, as they were
authorized to do under the Clean Water
Act. Fortunately, in another case several
years later, the Supreme Court
overturned Alito’s narrow reading of
the law.
Sen. Harkin Floor Statement in Opposition to Alito Nomination
(Democrat - Iowa)
01/26/06
"In the two instances where Judge
Alito has been required to interpret recent
Supreme Court cases limiting the
power of Congress to pass national legislation
under the 14th amendment or
under the commerce clause, he has
gone further than the Court itself.
|
